Toward Tomorrow
by Akanue
Summary: There's always tomorrow. All you must do is seize it. Yugi Mutou and his friends, to their joy, discover the Dragon Drive game and find new acquaintances in the form of Reiji Oozora and his friends. But when Bakura disappears into Rikyuu, the fun and games are over.
1. The Sea Palace

Title: Toward Tomorrow

Author: Akanue

Fandom(s): Dragon Drive and Yu-Gi-Oh!

Rating: T

Warning(s): None.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ or its characters. They belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallop, TV Tokyo, and other licensors and distributors. I also do not own _Dragon Drive_ or its characters. They belong to TV Tokyo, Madhouse, Kenichi Sakura, and other licensors and distributors. This is a not-for-profit fan work.

Summary: There's always tomorrow. All you must do is seize it. Yugi Mutou and his friends, to their joy, discover the Dragon Drive game and find new acquaintances in the form of Reiji Oozora and his friends. But when Bakura disappears into Rikyuu, the fun and games are over.

Toward Tomorrow

Chapter 1

The Sea Palace

"Guys, you aren't going to believe what I found yesterday," Yugi Mutou announced to his friends the moment their homeroom teacher was out of the room. Yugi had come to school unusually late that morning, though before the bell had rung. His friends had all given him questioning glances, but figured he would give them an explanation during their first break of the day when the teachers changed rooms. Now was that time.

"Well, what is it?" asked Anzu.

"Yeah. None of us heard from you at all yesterday after school," said Jonouchi. "It was kinda weird."

Yugi looked embarrassed. "I had to make sure. I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you this without proof. But I swear to you it's real."

"Okay, the suspense is killing us. Just tell us, Yugi," said Honda.

Yugi leaned closer to his friends, his hands resting on Jonouchi's desk. He looked like a child about to receive what he'd always wanted for his birthday. "I discovered a new game."

As he did nearly every day, Seto Kaiba sat behind their little group at his own desk, reading a thick book. He rarely joined in their conversations, and when he did it was because one of them, usually Jonouchi, had said something so ridiculously stupid that he just couldn't help but make a comment. But at Yugi's words had piqued his interest. A new game? Here in Domino? That he didn't know about? He listened more closely and his attention drifted away from the words on the page.

Yugi's voice got quieter and Kaiba strained to hear. "It's a new virtual reality game called Dragon Drive."

Kaiba's ears metaphorically perked up. Dragon Drive?

"Dragon Drive? Like, is it a racing game on dragons or something?" Jonouchi asked, half-joking and half being the idiot he had a tendency to be.

"No. Much better," Yugi promised. "Look, just come with me after school to this place. I promise you're all going to like it."

After all they'd been through together, Yugi's group more or less trusted each other wholeheartedly, so Ryou Bakura, Anzu Mazaki, Katsuya Jonouchi, and Hiroto Honda all returned to their seats as their Japanese history teacher entered the room, planning on going with Yugi to see this new game after classes let out.

* * *

><p>School passed by slowly. When the last bell finally rang, everyone looked at Yugi, who smiled happily at his friends' interest. "Follow me."<p>

Collecting their bags and their shoes, the group ventured out onto the streets of Domino, Yugi leading the way. When they finally arrived at their destination, everyone glanced at the building, then to Yugi, then back to the building in confusion.

"Um, Yugi, I hate to tell you this, but, this is an old run down candy store," said Jonouchi.

"The owner is sitting right there!" Anzu chided him. "Don't be rude." She was right. Sitting just inside the traditional Japanese home at the back of the store was an old woman, asleep with a cat on her lap. It was indeed an old candy store, sandwiched between two towering modern skyscrapers. The only thing noteworthy about it was how much it stuck out against the city around it.

But Yugi only smiled. "Just wait until you see what's _under_ the candy store." He led the group inside, past the old lady and the cat, and pressed a button well-hidden in the woodwork of the house.

"Yugi, we can't just go into someone's home like this," Bakura said, sounding nervous. He was reaching down to at least take his shoes off when the elevator doors slid open.

"Woah, where did that come from?" inquired Honda at the sudden juxtaposition of seeing a sleek modern elevator hidden behind the wall of a traditional Japanese home.

"Come on." Yugi bade them forth.

Astonished, the group all stepped into the elevator. There were many floor options indicated on the panel by the door, but Yugi selected the last one, which simply read "DD."

"I don't even know if the Kaiba Corporation building has this many floors," Anzu said as the elevator started downward.

"It's some kind of underground base or something. Like in one of those American spy movies," Honda said, amazed.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, and the gang let out a collective gasp of shock and awe. Spread out before them was a giant underground arcade, with kids of all ages milling about, talking with friends, indulging in refreshments, and playing the various games.

"Forget _a_ new game, Yugi," Jonouchi said in astonishment. "There have to be dozens down here!"

"I know! Isn't it exciting!?" Yugi said, clenching his hands into fists and looking up at Jonouchi in excitement. Anzu smiled. It was good to see Yugi in such high spirits after the departure of the Pharaoh. Their friend moving on to the afterlife had been hard on all of them, but Yugi had been hit the hardest by what Anzu suspected was borderline depression. Some days it was like his mind had wandered to the afterlife in the faintest hopes of catching a glimpse of his lost friend, but if Yugi ever noticed anyone watching him or getting concerned, he would perk right up again. The behavior concerned Anzu—she knew it wasn't good for him to dwell so much on it, but he had never particularly been candid about his feelings with any of them either.

It must have taken an insane amount of self-control, but Yugi managed to compose himself and explain further. "As awesome as this is, this isn't the reason I brought you here. The real surprise is this way." He beckoned for his friends to follow, which they did, walking all the way to the other end of the underground gaming center. They found themselves in front of something resembling an arena. There were seats and standing room on the upper floor, the floor they were currently on, and below sat a circle of what appeared to be virtual reality pods. There was a huge screen on the wall, showing two of the teenagers sitting in the chairs battling in some unrecognizable city atop two huge dragons.

They all stared, shocked, as they watched the dragons do battle and the people standing atop them dictate attacks. Cheers rose from the crowd around them whenever one of the players landed a blow. It was one of the most amazing things they'd ever seen, and they weren't even playing the game yet.

"Dragons?" Anzu finally managed to say.

"Yugi, what is this?" asked Bakura.

"It's a new virtual reality game called Dragon Drive," Yugi finally explained. "I asked around yesterday about it. This place is called Ryugujyo, after the old fairy tale, and it's essentially a free place for kids and teens to play. Dragon Drive is their main attraction. It's a virtual reality game, where you get your own dragon and then compete against other players."

"Can just anyone sign up?" asked Honda.

Yugi nodded. "Uh huh. I would have signed myself up yesterday but I didn't think it would be any fun not to play with my friends."

"Where's registration?" asked Jonouchi. "I'm going to get myself a badass dragon!"

"So this is what you found," a voice suddenly came from behind them. Seto Kaiba was standing there, his expression somewhat impassive. But not even he could completely hide how stunned he was at what he was seeing.

Yugi sighed and smiled. "I should have known Kaiba would show. This seems like something you'd enjoy too."

Yugi had clearly stated the obvious. The second Kaiba had seen a game that involved fighting alongside virtual dragons, he was as hooked as everyone else, probably even more so.

"I'm sure you're interested in all this, even without the dragons," said Anzu perceptively.

"You would be correct," was all Kaiba said. He seemed more focused on a circle of virtual reality pods in the center of the floor than anything else, analyzing them with his eyes.

"How did any company come out with this kind of virtual gaming technology without Kaiba Corporation knowing about it?" Jonouchi wondered aloud.

Jonouchi's musings made Kaiba visibly irritated, because having Jonouchi of all people be the one to point out a major oversight on his company's part was like a personal insult. That would have to be remedied. He was already looking over in the direction of a second circle of pods where it appeared players registered for the game. With that, he started off in that direction.

"Oh no you don't," Jonouchi said, seeing what Kaiba was doing and rushing ahead of him. "I was here first, so I'm getting my dragon first."

Kaiba stopped and fixed him with a glare but said nothing as Jonouchi trotted up to the pretty young woman who seemed to be giving the players their dragons. A teenage girl, probably a middle schooler judging by her uniform, was just leaving, so Jonouchi strode right up to the woman.

"Hey, can I get a dragon too?" he asked.

The woman smiled. "Of course you can. My name is Agent L."

"Agent L? What's your real name?" Jonouchi asked in confusion.

But L's smile just broadened. "Sorry, state secret." Before Jonouchi could question her further, she took control of the situation. "Go sit over there and our computer systems will choose the perfect dragon for you."

Even if Agent L didn't know who Yugi or Jonouchi were, because she simply had no interest in Duel Monsters, she certainly recognized Seto Kaiba.

_I suppose it was only a matter of time before he showed up here, _she thought to herself. She made a mental note to tell Agent S once Kaiba was out of earshot.

"What's your name?" she asked Jonouchi as he sat down and got comfortable.

"Katsuya Jonouchi," he said. "Um, how does this work, exactly?"

"Our state-of-the-art system matches you with a dragon based on your personality traits and physical ability," she explained.

"Sounds cool. Bring it on," was his response accompanied by a rather typical Jonouchi smirk.

The visor lowered itself over Jonouchi's head and the large screen above him stirred to life, displaying scrolling data. After a moment, the word "complete" flashed on the screen and an image of his dragon appeared.

Yugi, Honda, Bakura, and Anzu almost smiled when it became clear what dragon Jonouchi had gotten. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon had appeared, its wings spread wide, its head raised and jaws parted in a mighty roar. Jonouchi looked up at the screen, his eyes shining.

Agent L began speaking to the people who had stopped to watch. "This is a different dragon. I think I've seen its image somewhere before..." she said with a knowing smile. _I wonder if some Duel Monsters were inspired by real species of dragons living on Rikyuu?_ she wondered.

"That's the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, baby!" Jonouchi cried jumping out of the chair, nearly smashing his head into the lifting VR visor in the process.

"Well, I guess it's not very surprising," Honda said as he watched Jonouchi spazz in joy over the awesome and quite fitting dragon he had been assigned.

"Hold up a minute," said Agent L, gently placing a hand on Jonouchi's shoulder. "You won't be able to play without these." She handed him what appeared to be a mobile phone and a card with an image of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on it.

"What are these for?" he asked.

"When you want to play, just insert the card into this slot here, and then connect the device to the slot in the arm of the VR pod."

"Great. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out," Jonouchi said with a smile.

Kaiba let out a humph as Jonouchi practically danced away from the virtual pod. The young CEO quietly sat down, not saying a word.

Yugi noticed a crowd of people were suddenly gathering around them. It seemed just about everyone wanted to see for themselves that Kaiba was really there, and were also insatiably curious as to what dragon he would be assigned.

Kaiba said nothing and Agent L made no attempt to get him to speak. Like before, the program ran and a dragon appeared on the screen.

Even Agent L knew what the dragon was that finally appeared. "And Seto Kaiba's dragon is the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

"And that's even less surprising," said Anzu. Her words were echoed by some of the other spectators.

Kaiba wondered if someone had gone into the program and done this on purpose, but he supposed he didn't care. On a monster he was more familiar with it would be easier for him to win. Though he wasn't just planning on playing the game, however. _Whoever the people are who made this game, I want to know everything about them, especially how they could have built this place and designed this game without me knowing about it._

"Did you watch any matches when you were here yesterday, Yugi?" asked Anzu out of curiosity.

"A few," he said. "There's this one kid who's really good. I think his name was Reiji Oozora."

"Reiji Oozora," Anzu said, trying out the name. She didn't recognize it, so it probably wasn't someone who went to their school. She wondered what kind of player would have been good enough to catch Yugi's attention.

"Go get your dragon, Yugi," Honda said, giving Yugi a gentle push forward.

"Are you sure? Don't you two want to go next?"

"Positive," Anzu said.

With a small smile at his closest friends, Yugi stepped up. "I'd like to register too, please," he said in a polite yet strong voice. Not so long ago he had been so weak he would never have appeared so confident, but his time spent as the vessel for an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh had changed Yugi forever. He had become stronger, more confident, and the best Duelist in the world, but all without losing that childlike innocence that had made him so endearing to his friends and, ultimately, who he was as a person.

Agent L gave him a brilliant smile. "Right this way."

Yugi sat in the chair much the same way Jonouchi and Kaiba had done. A soft smile on his face and eagerness in his eyes, he looked up at the screen as it absorbed and calculated all the data. And then his dragon appeared in a burst of white light.

It looked a bit like Hermos, Jonouchi's legendary dragon from back when they'd faced Dartz, but it had no spines running along its back and a thin head with a pair of fins sprouting from either side in between its mouth and ears. It was covered in smooth red scales and had striking green eyes. Two wings sprouted from its shoulders as it stood on all fours, sharp claws on its feet.

"Another interesting dragon," Agent L said as she handed Yugi his card and device. "I don't think I've seen this type before either."

"I've never seen this one before," Yugi echoed softly, staring at the picture on the card. The emerald green eyes seemed to be staring into his very soul.

"You and your friends are just full of surprises," Agent L said, albeit cryptically. "If you want to register for the next game, there's still time, but you'll have to hurry." Yugi nodded, thanked her for her help, and returned to where his companions were standing.

"It kind of looks like it could be a Duel Monster," Yugi said to his friends, holding up the card to show it to them. "Almost as if it were a monster that somehow exists but never made it into general production." Again, he thought back to the time they'd faced Dartz. The actual monsters in Duel Monsters were out there... somewhere.

"I suppose we could ask Pegasus if we're really that curious," Honda said. "But that's not as important as what you're going to name it."

Yugi looked at the card long and hard. "Well, it doesn't seem right not to follow the pattern. My dragon is the Green-Eyes Red Dragon."

"I think that's a good name," said Anzu.

"Fitting," commented Ryou.

"Hey, a match is starting!" Jonouchi said, glancing up at an electronic board that projected the times and results of each match.

"You can register over there," Agent L informed them. She pointed to a desk with a couple of helpful-looking employees behind it. "Looks like there are still some spots open."

"Aw man, Anzu and I don't have time to get ours if we want to watch the match!" Honda complained.

"Don't worry, Honda," Yugi said as he and Jonouchi went to register. "Next time you two can have the spots in the game and we'll watch."

"I'll hold you to it!" Honda said jovially as Yugi and Jonouchi made their way to the ring of pods they'd all seen upon entering. Kaiba was already seated, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I'll go ahead and get mine then, and catch the end of the match," Ryou Bakura said. While the others made their way back to the arena, Agent L took Bakura as her last new player for the day before the matches started.

The commands were given over her headset, everything was normal. And then the boy simply vanished from the chair.

Agent L almost panicked, even though she knew what had happened. She'd just never seen it happen in exactly that way before. How on Earth had he gone to Rikyuu? She wasn't even sure what his dragon was; it hadn't appeared on the screen, almost as if his dragon had somehow pulled him into Rikyuu. She paused, took a deep breath, and tried to think of an explanation she could tell the white-haired teen's friends as she quietly reported the incident, thanking anything that was listening that no one had been around to see the strange incident, and set off to mediate the upcoming match.


	2. D-Zone

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. They belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallop, TV Tokyo, and other licensors and distributors. I also do not own Dragon Drive or its characters. They belong to TV Tokyo, Madhouse, Kenichi Sakura, and other licensors and distributors. This is a not-for-profit fan work.

Chapter 2  
>D-Zone<p>

Reiji Oozora was running late, as usual.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" he exclaimed as he exited the elevator and tore across the gaming center to reach the Dragon Drive arena. He hoped they hadn't started the match without him.

"A last minute entrance, huh, Reiji?" Agent L said with a smile as Reiji burst through the crowd that had gathered to watch and jogged over to the only seat that had not been claimed.

"Yeah, sorry. I got held up at school," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Well, we haven't started yet. Go ahead and take your seat."

Reiji glanced around at his opponents. Most of them were people he'd at least seen before around the Dragon Drive Center, whether or not they'd won any matches yet. He saw Maiko Yukino, his friend since childhood, fixing him with an almost exasperated smile as she shook her head at his tardiness. Some things never did change.

And then there were three people he'd never seen before in his life, and every single one of them stood out in one way or another. All three were male and teenagers, probably in high school, judging by their uniforms. One of them was tall, extremely tall, especially for his age. He wore a white trench coat and black leather pants, his frosty blue eyes seeming to take note of everything happening around him. The second looked relatively normal, except for his bleached hair, making Reiji wonder if he was some kind of yankii. He wore jeans and a plain t-shirt. The last boy was the weirdest-looking of all. He was short, incredibly so. Reiji would have guessed he was in middle school, not high school. And his hair was pointy and an odd shade of black-violet, with yellow streaks. But the boy didn't look like a delinquent. Just the opposite. He looked like the kind bullies couldn't get enough of.

Unable to help wondering who these new players were, Reiji sat down and took out his device, smiling down at his dragon's card fondly. _We're definitely going to win today, Chibi._

"Now that all our players are present, it's time to start the match!" Agent L cried as a cheer rose from the crowd. "Now, several registered players are new to the game, so I'll briefly go over the rules. Dragon Drive is played in a battle royale format, meaning you can choose to fight or run away from any opponent at any time. However, if you run, you won't gain any experience. Whoever is the last standing is the winner. You control your dragon by remaining focused and becoming one with its mind. If there are no other questions, let's begin! D-Break!"

The familiar sensation of diving into the virtual reality washed over Reiji. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling, more... unusual than anything. The new players would be experiencing it for the first time, but to Reiji this was all normal. He'd experienced it perhaps hundreds of times, and in a way, it was comfortable. He was going into the Dragon Drive game. A place where he wasn't just the school loser. A place where Chibi, the other half of his soul, was.

He awoke by the side of an expressway, Chibi at his side. "All right, buddy. Let's see if we can do any better than last time."

Chibi made a cute little oblivious noise. Last time the two of them had lost horribly against Ichiro Sumishiba, a top-ranked Dragon Drive player and another of Reiji's friends. Some days it had been rather frustrating that the two of them were back to square one, after being the most powerful on Rikyuu. Things they had done on Rikyuu without a second thought had become very difficult to accomplish. But they kept going all the same, because Reiji couldn't imagine doing it any other way. Long ago, he had promised he would never give up again. "Let's not lose this time," Reiji said in determination.

Chibi looked up at him, squeaked, and smiled.

* * *

><p>"Woah, this is amazing!" Jonouchi said. The surrounding city was unrecognizable as any specific real-world place, but looked like just about any Japanese city. He and Yugi, who had appeared within Jonouchi's line of sight, seemed to have materialized somewhere near a baseball stadium of some sort. There was no sign of Kaiba or any of the other players. Both Red-Eyes and Green-Eyes were perched on the top of a nearby building, awaiting the orders of their masters.<p>

"Wow," Yugi whispered, observing his hands closely and turning them over. "This feels so real. It's just like when we went into that game at KaibaCorp to rescue Kaiba from the Big Five, or when we were in Noah's world." He glanced up at the dragons. "Um, so you think they'll just listen to us?" The two creatures were standing there impassively, intimidating in their size and appearance.

"Well, one way to find out. Hey, Red-Eyes, come down here!" Jonouchi cried.

The dragon made a noise that was part way between a growl and a snort, but descended to land on the pavement with a thump. Jonouchi placed a hand on its scaly foot first, and deciding it wasn't planning on eating him, climbed up onto the dragon's back and settled himself where the neck met the torso with not much difficulty. "This is how they were doing it, right?"

"Yeah. They were definitely riding on the dragons," Yugi replied. He then turned his attention back to his own dragon. "Green-Eyes, why don't you come down here?"

The dragon obeyed and glided down and landed in one fluid flight. With a bit of hesitation, Yugi carefully climbed aboard his own dragon. Unlike Jonouchi, he'd never seen this dragon before today, but he already felt a connection with it. Definitely not as strong as with the Black Magician, but it was present all the same. It was all so real, he could have sworn he was really sitting on a dragon's back. He could feel the warmth of the scales and the powerful muscles shifting under the scaly hide.

"Can you fly?" Yugi asked the dragon. Green-Eyes looked at him, as if insulted by his remark, and spread its giant wings, taking off and hovering next to the tall building. Red-Eyes lifted off from the ground as well.

"Like in any video game, we need to get a feel for the controls first," Yugi said to himself. He tried to mentally connect with his dragon through the program and simply get it to move a short distance in the direction he wanted. He found it easier than he would have thought.

"Hey, how are you getting it to do what you want so easily?" Jonouchi said. "Red-Eyes only seems to listen if I actually speak." Indeed, Jonouchi had been trying to control his dragon while Yugi flew around, and didn't seem to be having as much luck unless he verbally gave orders.

Yugi looked at him sympathetically and shrugged. "I don't know. It's just sort of... happening."

It was then that a load roar sounded and another dragon shot out of the sky.

"Yugi!" Jonouchi cried, and at his wordless command, Red-Eyes lunged at the attacker. The approaching dragon and player were taken by surprise, not expecting to be attacked so easily by someone so new to the game. Red-Eyes hit it hard with a fireball, sending the attacking dragon flying into a nearby building. The windows all shattered on impact, creating a beautiful but deadly rain of glass. Defeated, the opposing player and her dragon fell to the ground and, unable to get back up again, vanished. "Tanaka, Game Over." Agent L's voice sounded, letting everyone know there was one less player in the game.

Jonouchi turned to Yugi. "Yugi, are you all right?"

Yugi opened his mouth to say that he was fine and to thank Jonouchi for saving him, but his expression quickly turned from one of gratitude into one of horror as he saw another dragon appear behind Jonouchi like a shadow. This one was smaller than the first, but looked like it was built for stealth. It was covered in black scales and had long, sharp, scythe-like claws in place of hands.

"Jonouchi, look out!" Yugi cried. The moment he felt a surge of worry for his friend, Green-Eyes lurched into action. It opened its jaws wide and let out a burning hot green energy beam which slammed into the opposing dragon's chest before immediately following up and biting down hard on the dragon's arm, right before the scythe began.

The dragon screeched in pain and thrashed, bringing the other scythe down towards Green-Eyes' head. Yugi saw it coming and reacted, Green-Eyes doing the same. Green-Eyes twisted away from the scythe and fired off another attack. The other dragon couldn't take any more and vanished. "Takahashi, Game Over."

"That was close," Jonouchi said. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Yugi responded.

"Hey, are you guys ok?" came a new voice.

Both Yugi and Jonouchi glanced around, trying to see where the voice was coming from. They looked up. There were no dragons, much less people, in sight. Then Yugi looked down. A boy perhaps a few years younger than him stood several meters away, a small white dragon at his side. Yugi recognized him as the boy who had shown up late for the game.

"You two are new, aren't you?" the boy observed.

"How'd you guess?" Yugi said with a joking smile.

"Who are you?" asked Jonouchi, not impolitely.

"Oh, my name's Reiji Oozora."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Katsuya Jonouchi."

"And I'm Yugi Mutou."

Jonouchi glanced at Yugi, who shrugged. The boy seemed friendly enough; neither of them seemed to think he was trying to catch them off guard, especially when his dragon didn't look like it would stand a chance in a fight against Green-Eyes and Red-Eyes. Their dragons lowered their heads to the ground so Yugi and Jonouchi could step off.

"Those are some really unique dragons you have," Reiji observed. "What are their names? Mine's called Chibi."

"Mine's Green-Eyes, and Jonouchi's is Red-Eyes," Yugi answered, mentally smiling at how unoriginal their abbreviated names for their dragons were.

Jonouchi glanced at Chibi. Neither of them really had any idea how unique Chibi might be, but he certainly didn't look that powerful compared to the other dragons they'd seen. "No offense man, but that dragon... well, doesn't look like much," Jonouchi said, eying Chibi.

"Oh, he may not look like much, but he can blow anyone away," Reiji said. He then glanced down at his dragon. "On good days, that is."

"How long have you been playing Dragon Drive, Oozora-kun?" asked Yugi.

"Please, just call me Reiji," Reiji said.

"In that case, you have to call me Yugi," Yugi responded with a grin.

"Deal." The two teenagers shook hands with goofy smiles on their faces.

"In answer to your question, oh, I'd say about... half a year? Maybe more?" Reiji said. "Guess I'm not sure. As they say, time flies when you're having fun." He paused. "So, what brought you guys down here?"

"I found Ryugujou the other day. See, my grandfather owns a game shop, and I happen to really like games, so whenever a new one comes out, I like to get a hold of it."

"Can't say there are as many games I've ever played that are as awesome as Dragon Drive," said Reiji. "Not to brag, or anything."

"It is pretty cool," Yugi agreed.

"I'm also pretty impressed with how good you are, especially since this is your first game," Reiji said. "You held your own against those two other players who've been around here for a while."

"I don't know if we were that good..." Yugi said modestly. Fortunately the subject was dropped as the ground began shaking beneath their feet.

"Woah, what's that? Can there be earthquakes in D-Zone?" Jonouchi asked, reaching back to grab his dragon's leg to steady himself.

A dragon that looked almost lion-like turned the corner and started running towards them, a girl wearing the same uniform as Reiji on its back.

"Oh man," Jonouchi cried as he frantically started trying to climb back up on Red-Eyes. "Red-Eyes, let me back on!"

"Don't worry, she's a friend," Reiji said.

"Did you guys hear what's going on?" the girl called as she got within shouting distance.

"That's Maiko Yukino, by the way. We've been friends since forever," Reiji explained to Yugi and Jonouchi. He turned and called up to her, "No, we didn't. What's going on?"

"Check your devices!" Maiko called.

They did. When they turned the devices on, the first thing that came up was the list of players. Each player had his or her current status listed next to their name. They were all coming up dead. All except Kaiba.

"Kaiba!" Jonouchi explained.

"Wait, Kaiba? You mean Seto Kaiba? Was that really who that was?" asked Maiko in shock.

"Yeah," Yugi said. "I guess it doesn't surprise me that he's trying his hardest to win."

"I won't let Kaiba get me," Jonouchi said firmly. "Not in a million years."

"Eh, I'm sure I can handle him," Reiji said. "It's his first time playing the game, right? Nobody's that good on their first try."

"Says you," Maiko said, though her comment was good-natured.

Their conversation was interrupted as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared in the sky, Kaiba standing tall atop it. The moment he spotted the Red-Eyes Black Dragon he swooped in for an attack, White Lightning sizzling between his dragon's jaws.

Red-Eyes actually reacted faster to the assault than Green-Eyes did, but just like in Duel Monsters, it was no match for the stronger dragon. The White Lightning sliced through the fireball and scored a direct hit, nailing both dragons before Yugi or Jonouchi could call them into action. Red-Eyes and Green-Eyes were thrown back against the nearby buildings before landing in a heap on the crushed cement.

Then Kaiba turned on Reiji and Maiko.

"Chibi, take him down!" Reiji cried.

Yugi lay atop his wounded dragon, the world fading around him to be slowly replaced by reality. The last thing he saw was Chibi's big blue eyes turning from oblivious to deadly serious in a flash. He spread his little wings, opened his mouth, and unleashed a burst of energy.

Yugi woke up in the VR pod with "game over" ringing in his ears. Jonouchi was already awake and mumbling angrily under his breath about losing to Kaiba again. Yugi wondered how Kaiba had done so well. He knew Kaiba was extremely good at games too—the two of them were equal in skill level. How had he mastered his dragon so quickly?

"The winner is Reiji Oozora!" Agent L announced as the remaining players, Kaiba, Reiji, and Maiko, came to.

Kaiba only looked mildly troubled. "Next time I'll have you," he said to Reiji, before walking away with a swish of his coat.

"That was amazing, Reiji!" Jonouchi said, walking over and offering a high five. "You totally beat Kaiba!"

Reiji high-fived him back. "What's that guy's deal?" He was obviously referring to Kaiba.

"Honestly, even we don't know," Yugi said with a sigh.

They walked over to where Anzu and Honda were standing. The crowd was already beginning to disperse, making it easier to spot them.

"You guys did pretty well for your first game, even if Kaiba did beat you," Anzu said encouragingly.

"Yeah. None of the other players were able to stand up to him either. Except you of course, Reiji," said Honda.

"This is Anzu Mazaki and Hiroto Honda," Yugi introduced them. "This is Reiji Oozora and Maiko Yukino."

Their introductions were cut off as another boy who appeared to go to Reiji and Maiko's school came running up to them.

"Did I miss the match?" the boy panted between breaths.

"Yeah, Sorry, Dais," Reiji said.

The boy moaned threw his head back. "How did you and Maiko do?"

"I won," Reiji said, "Though I couldn't stop Kaiba from wasting just about everyone else."

"Kaiba..." The new boy toyed with the name. "Wait, you mean THE Kaiba?"

"Yeah, apparently."

Daisuke appeared impressed as he regarded Yugi and his friends. "Anyway, who are these guys?"

"Yugi, Jonouchi, this is Daisuke Hagiwara. He's another of my friends," Reiji said, introducing them.

"These are my other friends," Yugi said. "Hiroto Honda and Anzu Mazaki."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Anzu addressed Daisuke before turning to Yugi. "Yugi, can I talk to you for a second?"

He looked confused, but the concern on her face was more than enough to convince him to listen. "Hold on a minute, guys."

Jonouchi and Honda kept talking to Reiji, Maiko, and Daisuke while Anzu led Yugi away to a more quiet place by the wall and said, "Bakura's missing."

Yugi's eyes grew wide. "Missing? How? When was the last time you saw him?"

"Right before your match started," she said. "He was going to get his dragon fast and then catch the rest of the match. But he never came back."

"Did you ask the staff here?"

"Honda and I both did during the match, but none of them would give us a straight answer. They think he probably went home, but you and I both know Bakura wouldn't leave without telling us first." She shivered. "Could it be... the spirit?"

"How could the Ring be behind this? The spirit of the thief vanished when the Millennium Items did. When Atem did."

Anzu's gaze softened. "But if it's not the spirit, then why? Bakura wouldn't just wander off like that, and he wouldn't just leave either."

"Something's off about this place, I agree," Yugi said. "Like, why is it so secretive? It was hard enough to just learn it existed, much less actually get down here. Kaiba didn't even know about it."

"I agree. Should we ask Reiji about it?"

"I don't see the harm," Yugi agreed. "He's been coming down here for a long time. He's bound to know more than we do."

With that, the two of them turned back to the clustered group and reentered the conversation.

"Hey, Reiji?" asked Anzu, softly interrupting their conversation.

"Yeah?" he said, turning towards her.

"Um, I know this might sound weird, but, well, I was wondering if there'd ever been any cases of people... vanishing, around here."

At her inquiry, Reiji's eyes turned a shade of serious. "Why do you ask?"

"I know how weird this is going to sound, but our friend Bakura came down here with us and we've looked everywhere and can't find him."

"Did you ask Agent L? She might be able to page your friend on the speaker or something."

"She was busy with the match, but we asked some other employees, and they didn't take us too seriously. They seem to just think he probably needed to go home, but Honda and I talked it over and neither of us buy it. Bakura isn't the kind of person to do something like that." Well, he wasn't the type to do such a thing at the moment. Back when he'd been possessed by the vengeful spirit of the Millennium Ring, this sort of thing had been the norm, but now, when he was back to normal...

"He just vanished, you say?" Reiji said, still completely serious.

"Yeah, why? Has that been happening around here recently?" Jonouchi said jokingly.

"You could say that." Reiji glanced around. "I definitely believe you. Come on, let's go somewhere quieter."

"Are you really going to tell them, Reiji?" asked Maiko.

"Their friend just vanished. I don't think we have much of a choice."

"They're not going to take it very well," Daisuke said. "We sure didn't."

They rounded a corner and stood near a wall. There were considerably less people in this part of the center so they wouldn't be overheard by any passerby.

"What's this all about?" Anzu said forcefully, placing her hands on her hips. "Was Bakura kidnapped or something?"

"Possibly, in a manner of speaking. See, there's another world out there called Rikyuu, the other Earth. People live there, but dragons do too. Dragon Drive may just be a game, but there's a completely different reality behind it."

Maiko continued. "We think your friend, somehow, might have been pulled into Rikyuu. Whether on purpose by someone or something, or by accident, there's no way of knowing at this point."

"Woah woah woah, wait. How do you know this place exists? Unless..." Honda trailed off as the only possible answer dawned on him.

Reiji nodded. "We've been there ourselves."


	3. Another World

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. They belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallop, TV Tokyo, and other licensors and distributors. I also do not own Dragon Drive or its characters. They belong to TV Tokyo, Madhouse, Kenichi Sakura, and other licensors and distributors. This is a not-for-profit fan work.

Chapter 3  
>Another World<p>

"So let me get this straight," Jonouchi said. "There's another world out there with dragons called Rikyuu. And people can just accidentally fall into it?"

"I know it sounds crazy..." Reiji trailed off.

"It doesn't sound crazy at all," Yugi tried to reassure him, but the revelation was certainly making his head spin. Was this really happening?

Reiji stopped, clearly surprised at Yugi's words. Maiko and Daisuke were surprised as well.

"You mean, you believe him?" asked Daisuke.

"I've seen some pretty weird things happen myself," Yugi said with a nervous laugh. "So yeah, I believe you, Reiji. But how do we get Bakura back?"

"I think the only thing we can do is go to Rikyuu and find him ourselves," said Reiji.

"How does one exactly... go to Rikyuu?" Jonouchi looked confused.

"Well, that might be a bit trickier. We should talk to Agent L and explain the situation," Reiji said, glancing at Maiko and Daisuke for confirmation. They both nodded.

"I think we should go and look for him first," Honda spoke up. "Don't you think it's possible he just got lost? I mean, we haven't exactly had the time to really look for him yet."

"You're right," Jonouchi said. "We could completely be jumping the gun here. Let's go look for him."

"Sorry. It's just that after we've all been through, we tend to jump to conclusions," Reiji said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Of course we'll help you look for your friend. We know Ryugujou much better than you do, after all."

"Let's split up. We'll regroup here in ten minutes," Yugi suggested.

"Take one of us with each of you," Reiji offered. "That way, you definitely won't get lost. I'll go with you."

"I'll go with Jonouchi then," said Daisuke.

"Is it all right if I go with you guys?" Maiko asked Honda and Anzu, who smiled and said "Sure."

They all split off in different directions and began their search.

At the appointed time they returned to the main lobby where Yugi and his friends were disappointed to learn none of them had had any luck. People around the Center hadn't even seen Bakura, and with his white hair, he wasn't the type of person someone could mistake for someone else. It appeared he really had vanished without a trace.

It was then that Agent L, the woman from before, came up to them, a concerned expression on her face. "You all look troubled. Is something the matter?"

It was Reiji who spoke up. "You've met Yugi and Jonouchi, right?"

"Of course. They both registered this morning and are doing an excellent job controlling their dragons so far. What can I do for you?" she asked, addressing the two teens directly.

"Well, our friend is missing and we wondered if you had any idea what might have happened to him," Yugi said.

A serious look crossed Agent L's face. "I assume then you think it's out of the question that your friend—Bakura, was his name?—went home?"

Yugi shook his head. "Bakura wouldn't do that. Not without telling one of us first. Something's wrong. I can feel it."

Reiji came right out and said it."We think he might have been pulled into Rikyuu, though we don't know why."

"Under the circumstances I think that might be the most likely explanation," L finally admitted. "It would explain the strange readings we've been receiving over the last few hours, though I have no idea why he might have been transported to Rikyuu. I can assure you none of our staff are responsible."

"Can you send us to Rikyuu?" Yugi asked, nervous about jumping headfirst into this, especially when he was so new to this game, but knowing he needed to save Bakura.

Jonouchi looked equally determined to go for it. "It can't be too different than when we had to save Kaiba from his own virtual reality game, right?"

"We have a transfer device that allows us to create a portal between the two worlds. Once you have found your friend, we can open another portal to bring you home," Agent L explained.

"And what is on this... other earth?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah. What can we expect?" Jonouchi looked from Agent L to Reiji and his friends, looking for an answer.

"Rikyuu is like Earth except they're not as advanced as we are. It's almost like a fantasy role playing game or something, except it's very real," Reiji said. "And there are dragons everywhere. People live alongside them."

"How many of you are planning to go, so we can calibrate the machines properly?" asked Agent L, reaching up to place a hand on her headset to switch it from "receive" to "speak."

"Well, the three of us are going," Reiji said, gesturing to his friends.

Maiko smiled. "Of course we're coming. We're not leaving you and Chibi alone," she said. Daisuke nodded his agreement.

"I'm certainly going," Yugi said. "I'm the one that suggested we all come here in the first place. I feel like it's my fault Bakura's disappeared."

"It's not your fault, Yugi," said Jonouchi. "No one could have known this was going to happen. But I'm with you, buddy."

"I guess we'll stay here," Anzu said, albeit sadly. "Honda and I don't have dragons yet."

"I'm sure L could get you one, but staying would probably be safer," Maiko said, trying to reassure them. "Besides, at least one of you should stay on Earth anyway."

"Why's that?" asked Honda.

"Bakura's family and any of your other friends will want to know what happened to all of you. It's going to be your responsibility to come up with a likely story," Agent L said.

"Can't you do that?" Anzu said with a large sigh.

L sighed softly. "I suppose I could, but we don't exactly advertise that the Dragon Drive Center exists. That, and I don't know much about any of you. Any story I come up with is bound to have holes in it that could prompt a much larger investigation and more scrutiny than we want." A pause. "I'm sorry, Anzu. I wish I could help you more. You and Honda are just going to have to hang in there until Yugi and Jonouchi come back with Bakura. I'll do my best to ensure that happens."

"Something else just occurred to me," Reiji said, looking at Maiko and Daisuke. "If we go running off to Rikyuu, what about everyone else?" Yugi correctly guessed the teen was referring to other friends of his that played Dragon Drive as well.

"I don't think we can afford to wait much longer," Maiko commented. "If Bakura's in Rikyuu, he could easily be attacked or killed by a wild dragon. Especially when he doesn't have a partner of his own who can protect him. We need to leave as soon as we can."

"Anzu, do you think I could ask you a big favor?" asked Reiji.

"What is it?" she asked, though since she wanted to do just about anything she could to help Bakura, the answer would almost certainly be "yes."

"We have a bunch of friends who frequent this center," Reiji explained. "Obviously they aren't going to know where we went, and some of them even might want to join and help us. Could you fill them in when you see them?"

"I can show you pictures and give you names," Agent L told Anzu. "I know the people Reiji's referring to."

"I suppose I'm fine with that," said Anzu.

Yugi's brow furrowed. "If Bakura's in danger then we have to go right away. Thank you for helping us, Agent L."

She smiled. "No problem. I just wish I could join you. It would be a fantastic opportunity to visit my sister."

Yugi looked confused, and his expression was echoed by his friends. This was news to them.

"Wait, why aren't you coming with us?" asked Jonouchi, picking up on that and not the fact that Agent L had just insinuated she had a sister in Rikyuu.

L shook her head. "Only kids of a certain age range are able to go to Rikyuu. We're not entirely sure why. The older you get, the harder it is until it becomes impossible."

Yugi nodded, not delving further. He figured he would find out more sooner or later, and it wasn't nearly as important as getting Bakura back.

"If you're ready, follow me," said L.

She led them down a hallway with an "Employees Only" sign plastered above it. As they got deeper and deeper into the center, the less people they saw. Finally, L stopped them at a door. She entered a code into the keypad, a light flashed green, and the door opened.

The room they stepped into was large with a lot of open space and a huge ceiling. There was nothing resembling the virtual pods they'd played Dragon Drive in, but there were several large computer panels, and a huge device embedded in the back wall that had a circular opening in the middle.

"Is that the transfer device?" asked Honda.

"We've never actually used it ourselves," Reiji said. "But yeah."

"It's perfectly safe," said Agent L. "It's been tested thoroughly, with humans, who have exhibited no ill effects."

There were two other people in the room, a man in a suit with glasses and a woman wearing a scarf, who appeared hard at work calibrating the machine for all of them. They didn't even so much as glance up at the newcomers.

"Yugi, I need to talk to you for a second," Jonouchi said, motioning to the wall on the other side of the room, heavily implying he wanted this conversation to stay private. Yugi complied and stepped aside.

"Are you sure we can trust these people?" Jonouchi asked softly so the Agents couldn't hear.

"I don't think we have much choice," Yugi said. "Why would they lie about something like this? Bakura clearly isn't here, so it's our responsibility to go look for him. And this seems the only way to go about it."

"I guess you're right," Jonouchi said. He still looked a little unsure, but Bakura's rescue was clearly the most important thing to him, too. So he and Yugi returned to the others, where it seemed Agent L was ready to turn the machine on and send all of them to this other world.

"We're ready," said Agent L. "Go stand up there, on the platform inside the machine. We'll do the rest. And good luck, all of you."

Reiji, Maiko, and Daisuke stepped up first. Yugi hesitated for a brief moment, and in that time Reiji reached down and offered his hand to the other teenager with a huge smile on his face.

Infinitely reassured by Reiji's enthusiasm and selfless desire to help, Yugi accepted his hand and ascended the stairs to the transfer machine. Jonouchi followed behind him.

Yugi stepped onto the platform and took in a deep breath. He could see Anzu and Honda standing below, concerned looks on their faces. He opened his mouth to say something to them, but a tingling sensation washed over his body as the machine activated, and the image in front of him, along with everything he'd ever known, faded away to white.

* * *

><p>Seto Kaiba was wandering through the halls of Ryugujou, metaphorically poking his nose where it didn't belong. He was hoping he wouldn't get caught, since he was more or less performing corporate espionage. But this was his opportunity to investigate and he wasn't about to pass it up.<p>

For being such a high-tech facility, the security was surprisingly lax, consisting of a handful of security cameras that were relatively easy to maneuver around. He supposed whoever the owners were didn't think a bunch of kids would be any real threat to them. But Seto Kaiba was no ordinary visitor to the center, either.

Most rooms didn't appear to be contain special. He glanced in a few of them, but most just had some computers or appeared to be offices. He passed a small infirmary, made obvious by the large red cross on the door, and a handful of storage rooms. Then he came across a room that captured his attention.

The room was dark and deserted, but Seto Kaiba could honestly say he'd never seen anything like it before. It appeared to be a conference room, but it was a whole lot bigger and more elaborate than the one on the top floor of KaibaCorp. There was a large table shaped like an infinity symbol in the middle, with a smaller desk a short distance away. The entire room was surrounded by a gigantic fish tank, which Kaiba suspected might actually be open to the nearby sea. Spread out on the table was a huge map of a world that looked just like Earth, except the land and the sea were switched.

"What on earth is this?" he whispered to himself.


End file.
